highly subjective
Rant
iPhone 4, Android and the Decision Dilemma
Aug 3rd
So – what phone to buy? I was due an upgrade and spent weeks trying to figure out the best option.
In the end i chose the iPhone 4 as a test for 7 days, as it was my eventual preference – pending whether the reported problems actually exert symptoms in my real world use or not. And they didn’t.
My reasoning, explanation and justification (yes, these days you MUST justify your purchase of an Apple product if you want to keep any kind of reputation as a tech fan) are all to follow once i get another spare minute.
..more to come…
Ao Maya
May 12th
Ao Maya, or more commonly known as “The Beach” yes, THE beach (found here) is a bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh, a small island in Thailand.
Having now visited, i can report here is the dream:
and here is the reality:
Now whilst the second isn’t actually a picture of Maya bay, it is ko phi phi don. It seems nobody publishes any images of what Maya bay is actually like now.. kinda like all the photographers are clinging on to what the film advertised it to be (myself included, photos from camera to follow..) by hiding the true reality of hundreds of tourist boats, a beach 3m deep and over a thousand tourists preventing any kind of real enjoyment or nostalgia from the film.
Gadgets, Thailand and Sleep
May 12th
So, i’m absolutely shattered.
Could be something to do with the first shift back at work and the lack of sleep in preparation. Could be something to do with the amount of time wasted looking for a new laptop (and coming up short for ideas as to what i’d like), or looking into what new phone i should get – as that happens to be up for renewal at the same time too. Or maybe it’s the return journey from Thailand that’s still not caught up on me properly.
Thailand photos to come soon no doubt, along with the 5 other albums i probably owe people from events i’ve photographed.
Sadly right now im considering macbooks and iphones as “the easy way out” of a decision, and the PC world isnt really putting up much of a fight to the contrary, for something thats powerful and good looking whilst still holds build quality. Bring on the new iphone too, whilst android does rock somewhat, it still doesn’t have the market leading app store that apple does, it simply trails iphone’s genuine apps with like for like unofficial copies of the same apps. I like the idea of using all the official ones, for blogging, e-banking, travel timetables etc etc. Oh, and i’m yet to find a handset that i think has a good enough level of build quality and style to warrant my 18month’s of expenditure. Sad really, i really want the open source/PC world to win, but i can really see myself moving to the dark side.
In a nutshell, Thailand is pretty cool – has some nice beaches, some great people and an entertaining tourist trail, but that’s all it really is, a huge tourist trail. I think what was left of its culture was sapped up years ago and now it’s more like one big show put on for the western tourists, to make them *think* they’re discovering this new world backpacker style, but are infact just drinking and partying with some flamboyant tricks thrown in (elephants, jungle, islands and beaches) to make it all seem real. It’s like magaluf with better beaches and a lot more scams.
The fact that bangkokscams.com exists says enough really, and whilst its not so bad down south, the scams are quickly replaced with old fat western men looking for thai brides, a potent sewage smell and hundreds of ladyboys looking to steal your money. Makes you quite embarrassed to be western, never mind British.
Oh and i got my replacement Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (HTC) and while it does now work, it does still suck.